(NB This is spoiler-free for this episode, not for the series to date)
Ange insists on coming along when an anomaly opens in the woods – right next to the cabin where friends of Toby’s are in the middle of a photoshoot…
The halfway point of the first season is a good example of both how Primeval New World has honoured the legacy of the original show, and gone its own way. The iconography is respected, and the relationship between humans and creatures set up in the British forebear (the show’s own Prime Directive, so to speak) is applied not just to dinosaurs but to other predators.
But the original series wouldn’t have had as much byplay going on between the characters – there’s huge amounts of subtext in the scenes between Evan, Dylan and Ange, with a very interesting triangle solidifying. Is it the anomaly-chasing that Ange sees as a threat to Cross Photonics, or is it that Dylan might be a threat to her developing relationship with Evan?
Mac has bounced back perhaps rather (too?) quickly from the events of the last two episodes – you’d think there was some gap between the last two, but it’s clear from the Ange/Evan dynamic that it’s not that long. The friendship with Toby is a good one, and I hope we get to see that developed; the revelations about her lifestyle in this episode allow Crystal Lowe to have some more screen time than usual, and she grabs the opportunity. Whether the relationship rekindles with Nat or not, it’s added some three-dimensionality to the character.
Finally, a word about the effects – there’s a moment where the dino of the week runs through a puddle. Full marks to Mark Savela and the team for the finesse with which that worked.
Verdict: British viewers are in for a treat come January as this new series goes from strength to strength. 8/10
Paul Simpson
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